With a smile, Pef glanced at Lucia who was busy going over the old tomes, her eyes glowing with some type of memorization spell. Aside the manuals, there were also dozens of theory books, all rare and precious.

Then he closed his eyes and resumed his Floating Meditation, which allowed him to grind active buffs without needing to stop and recover, or drink expensive potions.

*You have learned Nine Lightning Steps. User gains +30 Agi for combat purposes. Costs 300 MP per minute.

The ancient cultivator skill was a perfect fit for his build, easy to grind and very effective at keeping him alive, next time.

Plus, once you mastered it, you could run on air, three times faster than simply levitating.

Already at level 2, it gave +31 Agi and only cost 260 MP per minute, with his affinity counted in.

The reflexes were sped up as well, allowing him to dodge and react more efficiently.

The next spell was also easy to grind, as an elemental summon only had to be kept summoned to level up.

*You have made a pact with a Raiju elemental. You now have a pet made of electricity. Has its own spells and can evolve. Costs 100 MP per minute.

Sadly the Lesser Lightning Elemental was a tiny wolf-like beast, so it wouldn't be much use at opening doors or making emergency phone calls.

At level 2, it had grown cute tiny fangs and claws, and was standing guard with admirable loyalty.

The last spell was awesome, but too far ahead the magic tree.

*You have tried learning Arc Lightning Staff. You need minimum 150 Magic.

Simply reading the manual helped with his affinity, giving advice on better mana shaping methods, but he would need to absorb it for complete comprehension. Still, in the future it will act as a lightsaber, which wasn't bad at all.

There were a few other higher level spells which he lacked the attributes to learn, yet.

*You have tried learning Dream of the Ash Tree. You need minimum 200 Magic and 100 Constitution.

*You have tried learning Drain Magic knowledge. You need minimum 200 Magic and 100 Mind.

*You have tried learning Mental Acceleration. You need minimum 500 Magic and 100 Mind.

*You have tried learning Space-lock barrier. You need minimum 1000 Magic and 100 Mind.

There were a few lower tier spells which were easier to learn, but not as great. Or perhaps he just had to use them in the right context.

*You have learned Plant sense. You sense all plants and their true nature in 10 meter radius. Gaia approves. Cost 100 MP per minute.

*You have learned Farmer's Strength. You gain +20 Strength. When you need to plow deeper. Costs 300 MP per minute.

*You have learned enhanced hearing. You hear more and better. Not always desired. Cost 500 MP per minute.

*You have learned Dual Tantric Yoga. Practice with a partner for profit and pleasure. Cost 500 MP per minute.

*You have learned Cloak of invisibility. Makes you invisible but you can still see clearly. Cost 500 MP per minute.

*You have learned Banish spirits. Infuse your mana with pure thoughts and pulse it in a certain pattern. Exorcise ghosts and spirits in 50 meter radius. Channeling spell. Cost 500 MP over 5 seconds.

*You have learned Flame barrage. Throw dozens of small flame orbs at the enemy. Slight homing chance. Costs 300 MP.

*You have learned Incendiary Cone. A flamethrower of magical origin. Maximum range 30 meters. Not friendly fire. Cost 300 MP.

*You have learned Blood Crystal. Drain a human of their blood and compress it into a magic crystal. Useful for many crafting recipes. Cost 500 MP.

*Your Magic attribute has grown. +1 Magic.

Pef sighed at the latest spell, which was something he had almost experienced on himself.

"Blood crystals are valuable?" he asked to make sure.

Lucia glanced at him, over her book. "Depends on the blood, I suppose. Magician blood crystals sell quite well. About a thousand times more than normal blood crystals. Skulls and other magic bones sell very well too."

"The Abyss is rather ruthless, isn't it?" Pef mused philosophically.

"Well, that is a universal truth, my naive apprentice. Sheep eat grass, wolves eat sheep. But, humans do tend to cluster into guilds and clans for mutual defense. It's mostly newbies and loners who get sacrificed. And defeated clan members, I assume." Lucia replied with a serious tone.

"Ready for a spar, most wise teacher?" Pef asked as a reply.

"Oh? Feeling brave already?" she said with a smirk, twisting her fingers into a spiral. The world grew cold on his skin.

*You may enter an empty Instant Dungeon. Accept? Yes/Yes.

'Very droll Gaia' Pef muttered while poking the Yes tab.

A blast of acid fog hit him in the face, blocking vision and obscuring his attacker.

-100 HP

"That's cheating! I wasn't ready..." Pef complained while speeding away and layering buffs.

*You have been Cursed. Silence. You lose 10 Magic. Magic Resistance reduces the loss by 1.

*You have been Cursed. Evil Eye. You lose 10 Mind. Your Invictus skill has failed.

*You have been Cursed. Wort. You lose 10 Charisma.

*You have been Cursed. Jinx. You lose 10 Kharma. Your Headshot perk reduces the loss by 2.

"Gahhh! Now I'm stupid too!" Pef yelled while launching a Wail of his own.

*You fell into a pool of acid.

-50

-50

-50

Pef jumped away and entered Levitation, while searching for the evil witch.

*You flew into a poison cloud. You are immune to poison.

'Huh? She has to know I'm immune...'

*You have been showered by an Ice Blizzard. Movement speed reduced by 70 percent.

"How?" Pef asked in wonder, while flinging mana arrows at random.

One of them sparked off something.

"Incendiary Cone!" he announced silently, pointing the spell at the invisible target.

*You have been struck with an Ear Worm. Gamer's Mind has resisted most affliction. You lose your sense of hearing.

'Bleh. I only have my eyes, but she's invisible anyway...' Pef concluded in defeat.

A huge shadow rose from underneath.

*A Giant frog has eaten you.

-150

-150

*You will die in 14 seconds.

'Great, a giant frog now? Where does she find these things?' Pef wondered while holding his hands up.

*You have lost a training duel.

*Your relationship with Lucia has decreased by 1. (Pity)

"I didn't get to hit you once..." Pef complained as he sat down to rest a bit.

Lucia patted his shoulder in compassion. "I wouldn't have escaped from Hell if hitting me was that easy. But your summon did scratch me." she explained while pointing at a faint burn mark on the back of her hand.

"Huh. My Raiju is quite something for his tiny size..." he replied while petting the pet on its lighting mane. The wolf growled with pride.

"I don't have anything that blocks electric senses. It seems I need to do some research myself" Lucia said while leaving the room and heading towards the pool.

Pef ogled her plump behind for a second, before slapping himself.

"Training! Keep your eyes on the goal." he muttered inward.

*The Gamer has received a new quest: Training montage.

*Reach level 30 in one month.

*Create a level 6 ID.

*Complete 100 dungeons.

???

???

???

Rewards: Levels, stats, potions, artifacts, pleasure and profit. Accept? Yes/ Hell yes!/Die.

Pef blinked at new quest.

Gaia was giving him hints, and hope. Perhaps it would be wise to accept her training montage.

He clinked on the 'hell yes' button.

*For making a wise choice, you gain +1 Mind.

Pef smiled at the implied humor and stretched his arms a bit.

"Floating Meditation"

"Create ID!"

"Dispel ID"

"Create ID!"

A dozen repetitions later, he got a new options on his ID list.

*Create ID: - empty. 100MP.

- zombie. 200 MP.

"Create zombie ID"

"Dispel ID"

Some time later, a new monster appeared.

*Create ID: - empty. 100MP.

- zombie. 200 MP.

-ghost. 300 MP.

"Oh! Ghosts? Guess I could farm them for a while..." Pef said thoughtfully.

Picking the ghost option created a ghastly dungeon, made of burned walls and dead trees, paired with scary wails and gusts of dust and ash.

"Good job on the atmosphere, Gaia. 9 out of 10." Pef praised the goddess.

"Oh? Anything missing, my servant?" Gaia asked with a worried tone.

"Silver moon, flickers of lightning, dripping water drops..." Pef commented while searching for any ghost.

*Version 1.042 Dungeon verisimilitude updated.

*You have received 10000 Euros for your help.

'Sure beats a desk job.' Pef mused as he located an incoming ghost. "Observe"

Ghost

Lvl 13. HP 130, MP 30

Status: Intangible, undead, sad.

Pef drew a gun and tested the intangibility. Sure enough, bullets passed through the apparition without causing damage.

Placing a palm on the ghost, he began Draining Life from it. In about a dozen seconds the ghost vanished.

Its feeble attacks were harmlessly absorbed by his aura.

*You have killed a ghost. Gain 30 Exp. Drop: spectral thread.

Searching it in the inventory, Pef looked at the details.

*Spectral thread. A filament of spiritual origin, left behind by a sad ghost. Crafting material.

"Okay. A bit creepy, but still much better than zombie teeth or human blood..." Pef muttered with a shudder.

Then he rushed ahead, trying to collect all the ghosts into a single pack and get them to chase him.

"Incendiary Cone" he ordered as the ghosts pilled up into a tight bunch. They died rapidly.

*You have killed 999 ghosts. You gain the perk Ghostbuster. +1 Magic. +10 percent damage vs ghosts and other intangible monsters.

*You gain 30000 Exp.

"Not bad!" Pef exclaimed as a loud wail filled the dungeon.

*Killing so many ghosts have angered the guardian spirits. They sent a Banshee Ghost to deal with the intruder.

"Observe"

Banshee Ghost

Level 40. HP 14000 MP 3000

Status: Intangible, undead, angry.

-200

*You have been hit by a Spectral Claw. Your soul is shaken.

*Aura Body has reached level 9.

"That hurts!" Pef exclaimed in outrage.

*Banshee Wail affects your Mind. You lose 5 attributes.

"No!Not again! Lighting arrows." Pef said with a determined voice.

A barrage of Lightning arrows ripped through the dungeon's boss, leaving sparks behind.

"Floating Meditation. Mana Shield." Pef demanded as his MP began depleting rapidly.

Another Spectral Claw passed under him.

"Banish Spirits" he ordered with a flash of inspiration.

His mana became tangible and thick, like a cloud of mana particles. Seconds passed by as he kept channeling the spell and dodging the banshee's attacks.

*You have hit the Banshee Ghost for 9999 damage.

*You have killed the Banshee Ghost. 14000 Exp.

*You have defeated a level 3 ID.

*You have found 5 Medium HP potions. You have found a Spectral Claw manual.